Bus

Nashville Mayor commits $7.5M for BRT system

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville Mayor Karl Dean on Wednesday called for spending $7.5 million to continue development of a 7.1-mile bus rapid transit system through the heart of the city.

Known as The Amp, the BRT project, one of Mayor Dean’s most high-profile initiatives, is designed to help ease traffic congestion and provide better mass transit as the region adds a million new residents over the next two decades, according to The Tennessean. For the full story, click here.

The pilots will include a combination of dedicated bus-only lanes that take bus riders out of car congestion, technology to time traffic signals so that buses get more green lights, and platforms that allow riders to “level-board” the bus quickly as they would a subway.

The MetroHealth Line was developed as part of a naming rights agreement between RTA and The MetroHealth System, executed earlier this year, to rebrand the No. 51 family of routes. Those routes have the second highest bus ridership after the HealthLine.